Materica #8

Photographic print

Even science communication must abide. The example more significant is perhaps the inseparable bond between the paper by Watson and Crick on DNA and the image of the double helix. But this is not the only reason why the art of the image - from photography to video, from painting to animation – has become a major tool for communicating science to the general public, along with literature, hands-on technology, advertising, show... The other simple yet vital role that image plays in the divulgation of knowledge is to show the beauty of science, which is as relevant as its cultural impact and application.

The project Materica, by Mauro Caccavale and Michela Alfè, has the merit not only to exhibit images of great charm and interest, but to tie them with absolute consistency to chemist Alfe’s work on the development of innovative materials. The photographs of Materica manage to suggest and propose visions that transcend the factual meaning of the images, even though they are anchored to their scientific nature.